Drilling--Mt. Waddington

Driller Bella Bergeron (left), from Ice Coring and Drilling Services, and Dr. Eric Steig (right), from the University of Washington, prepare to lower a 3" thermal core barrel into the glacier at Combatant Col, B.C. Coast Range. The mountain in the background is Mt. Waddington (4,019 metres; 13, 186 feet), the tallest peak in the Coast Range. Combatant Col (~3000 m, 10,000') is filled with a large, flat glacier that is ~200 m (~650') deep. Because of its unusual thickness and altitude, Combatant Col represents one of the best sites in western Canada to collect a deep ice core that records past climate changes in the region. The coring effort shown in the photo was part of a pilot study to test the quality and value of recovering ice from this site; initial results from this study indicate that the Col likely preserves a record of snow accumulation that stretches back a millennium or more. The coring was funded through the National Science Foundation Atmospheric program, in conjunction with a more regional Canadian effort to study glacier climate change (Western Canadian Cyrospheric Network, WC2N). [Research supported by National Science Foundation Small Grant for Exploratory Research award ATM 06-29497]. (Date of Image: July 2006)